Boat Line Modifies Port Towns Funding
Cuts Former Annual Reimbursement, Citing New Passenger Surcharge;
Tisbury Selectman Objects
By ALEXIS TONTI
In a reversal of Steamship Authority policy, senior managers at the
boat line notified Island port towns this week they are withdrawing an
annual reimbursement for police assistance and traffic control.
SSA chief executive officer Fred C. Raskin said the revenue now
collected by the towns from a new ferry passenger surcharge relieves the
boat line of its former obligation.
Mighty Wind: Church Organ Gets a Tuneup Every 150 Years
By JESSIE ROYCE HILL
LAWRENCE - On a flat gray morning, 1,000 pewter and wooden
pipes and ivory keys are spread over three floors of workshop space in
the Andover Organ Company.
They are here to be examined, patched and reassembled again into the
organ that has served Edgartown's Old Whaling Church for 150
years.
Town Administrator Is Announced
By ALEXIS TONTI
Tisbury voters this week waded through the special town meeting with
little debate, approving the bulk of the articles under consideration,
among them a barking dog bylaw, new sewer and septage regulations and a
professional enhancement fund for Island teachers.
A bare quorum of about 100 residents came to the meeting Tuesday
night at the Tisbury School gymnasium. Town moderator Deborah Medders
took the podium only a few minutes past the scheduled starting time.
$16 Million Budget on Warrant
By ALEXIS TONTI
At town meeting next week Tisbury voters will consider a host of
articles related to public safety, including requests for an upgrade in
ambulance services, new vehicles for the police and fire departments and
a feasibility study for an emergency services facility.
The annual town meeting begins Wednesday, April 7, at 7:30 p.m. in
the Tisbury School gymnasium.
Oak Bluffs Forum Promises Heated Selectman's Race
By CHRIS BURRELL
Like the ceremonial first pitch on opening day, the political season
in Oak Bluffs uncoiled last night slowly and politely before candidates
and voters really stepped to the plate and took their first cuts at a
range of issues - from the flagrant violation of zoning bylaws to
the lack of progress on affordable housing in town.
The forum was candidates night, an event sponsored and moderated by
the Martha's Vineyard League of Women Voters.
The Ritz Cafe has been cooking up lunches for the last month.
At The Rare Duck, the focus this summer will be on martinis, comfy
couches and a new brand of music.
West Tisbury Committee Wants Chilmark to Share More Financial Burden
By CHRIS BURRELL
The fight over the cost of education up-Island took a nasty turn
this week as West Tisbury finance leaders traveled to Chilmark and
pitched their hard-line solution: Pay a bigger share of the school costs
or consider leaving the regional school district.
At issue for West Tisbury finance committee members is the price tag
on operating the Chilmark School, a kindergarten to fifth grade facility
with just 45 students and a per-pupil cost of $19,820.
Island Airport Manager Raises Concerns About Massport's Steep
Landing Fee Hikes
By ALEXIS TONTI
Faced with a state plan he says could cripple regional airline
service, the Martha's Vineyard Airport manager is calling on
Massport officials to include Cape and Islands airport operators in
their review of a proposed hike in landing fees at Logan International
Airport.
Land Bank Bids for a Woodlands Preserve
Deal Would Protect 190 Acres; Developer to Build 26 Houses
By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer
A long, bruising battle over the fate of the southern woodlands in
Oak Bluffs took a stunning turn this week when the Martha's
Vineyard Land Bank announced that it has signed an agreement to buy 190
acres from developer Corey Kupersmith, including the old Webb's
Camping Area.
The purchase price is $18.6 million.
In the Campground, a Feeling for What Oak Bluffs Will Gain
By CHRIS BURRELL
A splotch of fluorescent orange paint tags the trunk of a pine tree
standing over what was once campsite Number 92 in the old Webb's
Camping Area.
The tree is a survivor, proof that the chainsaws didn't make
it this far and a sign that the southern woodlands in Oak Bluffs are
truly an arrested development.
